The smell of hot metal assaulted Casey’s nostrils. Opening his eyes, he was lying within inches of the wreaked helicopter, the smashed face of the dead pilot hanging over his leg with his night vision goggles crushed into his skull.

The odor of fuel mixed with the scorched metal. Somewhere, fuel was gathering to prepare for an explosion. They had to get out of the ravine. He looked for his allies, amazed he could remember they existed after the last wave had passed over them while they slid to the bottom of the slope.

A body lay nearby. Casey reached out and touched the shoulder and the shape stirred. The man turned his head and Casey recognized features he associated with John. “You alive?”

“Barely.” John sat up and performed a quick check of his limbs. “I seem to be one piece.”

“Start climbing to the top,” Casey ordered and stood, despite the pain that lanced his side. The rib had to be broken. He clutched a hand to his side and worked his way around the wreck.

Lia was kneeling against the opposite slope of the ravine at the side of another body. It had to be the man who had bailed from the chopper as it passed over the backyard.

“Let’s go,” Casey ordered and waited for Lia to stand.

She remained at the body, adjusting the man’s body, trying to comfort the wounded.

“Leave him.” Casey placed a hand on Lia’s shoulder and pulled her away from the man.

She shrugged away from his touch and faced Casey. “He’s hurt.”

“Do you think he was here to help you?” Casey stood his ground and returned Lia’s stare. “He was here to kill us and to contain the damage.”

“So, you say,” Lia cared for the man again, to Casey’s frustration. The aliens had to be coming here to see what had crashed in the ravine. For all he knew, they only had seconds to reach the top of the ravine and fire on the aliens.

Aligning the silencer on the man, Casey fire a burst into the man’s chest. The body sagged lifeless. “That’s what his friends are going to do to us if we don’t get the hell out of here.”

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“I can’t believe you did that,” Lia stood abruptly and swung a fist that connected with Casey’s jaw. He reeled from the blow, his side protesting in agony as he bent to recover.

Shaking her head, Lia passed Casey and began climbing the slope to the house, muttering while she worked.

“He’s better off than us,” Casey said as he straightened and followed the pair up the loose dirt. Even if they rescued the people in the house and avoid detection as they fled the area, they still had to contend with a government searching to silence the only witnesses to the fiasco that took place tonight. Casey suspected he could disappear into society, a new name and occupation while hiding in plain sight. He had done it before in hostile countries and he could do it here.

He looked up the hill. The actors were struggling against the loose sand and dirt that composed the slope. John was nearing the top while Lia was midway to the lawn. They would never make it past this place. They could never hide from a vindictive government. It would be a mercy to kill them now and end the weeks or months of running they were committing to by simply surviving the alien attack.

A third of the way up the ravine, his leg seized and threatened to collapse under his weight. Grabbing a shrub, Casey eased the weight off the leg and lay resting, knowing he had to hurry but could do nothing other than look up at his colleagues and grimace from the pain.

Shooting stars flooded the night sky, drawing his attention. They were familiar, darting past the ravine in a swarm that covered the sky. Casey’s mouth swung open as he recognized the orbs. When the first alien ship had attacked, it had sent out dozens of the same orbs that surveyed the surroundings, like an automated reconnaissance.

“Hold it,” he shouted, knowing he had to stop the actors or the lights would detect them and attack. He could remember the lights exploding during the first attack.

The urgent cry from below stopped John as he reached a hand to the top of the ravine with a sigh of relief; the climb had worn him out more than running through the woods.

Looking below, he could see Casey far below with Lia in between. Her face turned to the sky, a pale oval in the dim light. “What’s wrong?” he half shouted to Casey.

“Look up, you idiot,” the soldier snapped.

“Asshole,” John muttered as he complied and suddenly understood the panic in Casey’s voice. “What are they?” he whispered.

There was no answer, only the lights streaming over the ravine.

A volley of gunfire broke the silence, much closer than before the wave, and in a volume that suggested dozens of men were once again in the fight. The lights changed course and dove back towards the house.

Needing no urging, John reached to the lip of the ravine and pulled up to the grass. Searching the surroundings in a quick sweep, he saw no aliens. He turned back to the ravine and leaned over the side to offer a hand to Lia.